The time has come to play down to a winner in the international leg of the 2020 WSOP $10,000 Championship Main Event and eight of the nine players who qualified on GGPoker eight days ago have made the trip to the King's Resort in Rozvadov, Czech Republic. China's Peiyuan Sun has opted not to travel and thus becomes the 9th place finisher as per the rules set for the online and live poker hybrid, he earns $75,360.
All remaining eight have secured a payday of $109,982, however, each pay jump becomes significant and two millionaires will be crowned with $1,062,723 reserved for the runner-up whereas the winner takes home $1,550,969.
Brazil's Brunno Botteon made the trip to the King's Resort alongside GGPoker ambassador Felipe Ramos and leads the contenders with a stack of 10,325,000, which represents a significant lead over Portugal's Manuel Ruivo (6,225,000) and Damian Salas (5,656,000).
Switzerland's Marco Streda sits in the middle of the pack with 4,225,000 followed by Austria's Hannes Speiser (3,525,000), and the next two hopefuls are separated by just one big blind including Dominykas Mikolaitis (3,175,000) and Ramon Miquel Munoz (3,025,000). Last but not least, Stoyan Obreshkov (2,125,000) can follow in the footsteps of Stoyan Madanzhiev who won the WSOP Online $5,000 Main Event on GGPoker a few months ago.
The chip counts of all finalists have been rounded to the nearest live denomination in play and the action resumes with blinds of 75,000/150,000 and a big blind ante of 150,000. Unlike the online portion of the event, all levels last 60 minutes each until one of the finalists has accumulated all the chips.
One hour prior to the start at 11 a.m. local time, the eight finalists will draw for their seats and the action will then kick off at noon local time. The PokerNews team will be at the venue to provide all the key hands until a winner is crowned, all hands are also recorded for TV broadcast later on.
The action kicked off with a raise to 425,000 by Damian Salas in early position and Hannes Speiser opted to three-bet jam as one of the three table short stacks. Salas asked for a count and once it was deemed to be for 1,925,000, Salas made the call.
Hannes Speiser:
Damian Salas:
Speiser picked up a gutshot and counterfeit outs on the flop. The turn added more outs with the open-ended straight draw but the on the river ended his run in 8th place for $109,982.
Stoyan Obreshkov made it 900,000 to go in the cutoff with fewer than that behind and Damian Salas on the button re-raised to 1.75 million. The blinds got out of the way and Obreshkov called it off, then walked over to his friends on the rail after the cards were turned over.
Stoyan Obreshkov:
Damian Salas:
Both players paired up on the flop which kept Salas in the lead. The turn brought some chop outs but Salas sealed the second knockout on the final table with the river. Obreshkov has been eliminated in 7th place and takes home $160,512.
The action folded all the way to Manuel Ruivo in the small blind and he moved all-in to give Dominykas Mikolaitis in the big blind the option to fold or call. Mikolaitis opted for the latter for what appeared to be around 2.5 million and the cards were turned over.
Dominykas Mikolaitis:
Manuel Ruivo:
Ruivo improved to a set on the flop and Mikolaitis groaned. "Something fun, come on ... the four of clubs," he demanded. However, it was all over with the turn and that made the river a formality.
Mikolaitis has been eliminated in 6th place, which comes with a payday of $234,255.
Damian Salas made it 525,000 to go and Brunno Botteon defended the big blind to see a flop of , on which both players checked. The fell on the turn and Botteon now bet 450,000, which Salas called.
Botteon then opted to check the on the river and Salas made it 1.5 million to go. Botteon, who was the only one with the T-500,000 chip denominations, then raised to 5 million and that sent Salas into the tank.
Eventually, Salas made the call and Botteon rolled over for a pair of nines and busted gutshot. "Come on Damian," Salas pushed himself as he tabled for the top pair to take a big lead.
The action started with a button raise to 600,000 by Manuel Ruivo and Marco Streda pushed for what appeared to be just shy of nine blinds from one seat over. Ramon Miquel Munoz forfeited the big blind and Ruivo snap-called to roll over his cards immediately.
Marco Streda:
Manuel Ruivo:
The flop left Streda on the ropes and he grinned, adding "zero point pero, zero, zero one." It was all over on the turn and the river officially ended Streda's run in 5th place for $341,879. He then wished all his opponents good luck before leaving the feature table.
"Pretty good spot," Brunno Botteon said in table chat and Ruivo replied with a "decent," then moved his chips and some of them fell over. "These internet kids, don't even know how to stack chips," the Portuguese pro joked.
As the first player to act, Ramon Miquel Munoz pushed for the last two blinds and Brunno Botteon inquired about the stack size of Manuel Ruivo. He then moved all-in over the top and that isolated successfully.
Ramon Miquel Munoz:
Brunno Botteon:
As soon as the flop fell, Miquel Munoz vaulted out of his chair, in need of running cards for a miracle escape. It was all over after the turn and the river was too little too late for the Spaniard. Miquel Munoz has been eliminated in 4th place and takes home $498,947.
Manuel Ruivo limp-jammed out of the small blind to boost his stack as Brunno Botteon forfeited his raise to 1.25 million out of the big blind.
In the very next hand, it was Damian Salas that limped in and Ruivo raised to 1.5 million in the big blind. Salas filled up and they headed to the flop.
Salas opted to check and Ruivo bet 750,000 with a stack of around 6 million at his disposal. The check-raise to 5 million by Salas followed.
"Five million? That's almost my all-in ..." Ruivo gasped and then announced his all-in, which Salas snap-called.
Manuel Ruivo:
Damian Salas:
The turn gave Salas an open-ended straight draw on top and Ruivo calmly added "could be worse." It indeed came worse as the river improved Salas to a flush and sent Ruivo to the rail in 3rd place for $728,177.
A limped pot led to the flop on which Brunno Botteon checked his option and Damian Salas checked behind. The fell on the turn and Botteon checked once again, which led to a bet worth 1 million by Salas. Subsequently, Botteon check-raised to 2.8 million and Salas made the call.
The fell on the river and Botteon announced all-in. Salas asked for a count on the shove, which was deemed to be for 6.65 million and the Argentinian took off his sunglasses for the first time on the final table to study his opponent.
One minute passed without any decision, Salas then took some more time and eventually called. Botteon immediately tapped the table and turned over for a bluff gone wrong as Salas revealed for the top two pair.
Botteon's formidable run ends in 2nd place for a stellar payday while Salas has locked up $1,550,969 with the dream of adding another $1 million to that.
The winner ceremony is now being prepared, followed by the winner pictures and an interview with Salas. A recap of today's action is to follow.
The first final table winner of the 2020 World Series of Poker $10,000 Championship Main Event has been determined, at the King's Resort in Rozvadov for the international leg of the online/live hybrid.
Eight of the nine finalists out of a field of 674 entries made the trip to the Czech Republic to battle for the lion's share of the $6,470,400 prize pool. Ultimately, the two finalists with the longest travels met heads up and Argentina's Damian Salas defeated Brazil's Brunno Botteon to claim the top prize of $1,550,969.
Salas beamed with pride and proudly flashed the Argentinian flag throughout the entire final table, in which he ultimately prevailed after dominating the duel with Botteon. The Brazilian is mainly active in the online poker arena and reached three final tables including two runner-ups during the 2020 GGPoker WSOP Online Bracelet Events earlier in 2020. While it was another close call, Botteon will certainly be consoled by a massive score of $1,062,723 to further cement his status as one of the rising stars of the South American powerhouse.
Salas, meanwhile, gained chance at redemption after finishing in seventh during the 2017 WSOP Main Event, and he will have the chance to return to the Rio All-Suite Hotel & Casino in Las Vegas at the end of the year. The heads-up duel for the title of 2020 World Champion is currently scheduled for Dec. 30, and Salas now awaits the champion of the domestic leg, which has played down to the final nine last night on the WSOP.com client in Nevada and New Jersey.
Portugal's online and live poker wizard Manuel Ruivo finished third and the international final table line-up also featured Ramon Miquel Munoz, Marco Streda, Dominykas Mikolaitis, Stoyan Obreshkov, and Hannes Speiser.
Place
Winner
Country
Prize (USD)
1
Damian Salas
Argentina
$1,550,969
2
Brunno Botteon
Brazil
$1,062,723
3
Manuel Ruivo
Portugal
$728,177
4
Ramon Miquel Munoz
Spain
$498,947
5
Marco Streda
Switzerland
$341,879
6
Dominykas Mikolaitis
Lithuania
$234,255
7
Stoyan Obreshkov
Bulgaria
$160,512
8
Hannes Speiser
Austria
$109,982
*China's Peiyuan Sun has opted not to travel and finished in ninth place ($75,360) as per the rules
Salas Overwhelmed and Thankful
In the interview after victory, Salas said he was happy about the performance but also made sure to point out that he "is not the best poker player" but being able to compete against the best in the world has certainly improved his game.
The Argentinian had already crossed paths with runner-up Botteon on the virtual felt many times over the years and described him as a "very tough opponent with a winning mentality."
Salas recalled a pivotal hand early on the final table in which he gained the lead from Botteon when he called a check-raise on the river with just the top pair.
"I was very confident in my game and that hand was important," he said. "It was a tough spot but I also knew he is also very capable of bluffing."
The Argentinian didn't have any special plan for the heads-up duel and prefers to adapt along the way. It was another gutsy bluff by Botteon that ended the tournament as Salas called with the top two pair on yet another tricky board, in which many flush draws got there. Again, Salas credited his opponent's play on the hand.
Salas' nickname "Pampa," which he was given while playing football, means "the wild one, the country man" and he was initially going to use another nickname and that happened to not be available. Ever since, Pampa has stuck around and is a well-known name in the thriving poker scene in Argentina and South America in general, which he hopes can grow further.
Despite the success of the last few years and a very fruitful year 2020 in online poker, Salas plans to continue working as a lawyer in his home country.
"I don't want to spend all my energy playing poker," he said. "I like to take my time to also do other things and not just poker."
As a source of positive vibes and motivation, Salas thrived on the support of his family and friends back home and carried a picture of his three children and wife with him. His daughter Sol even created a handmade bracelet, which he wore for the winner's photos as he thanked everyone back home rooting him on.
"I was already a winner because I received all this energy," he said. "I want to thank all my friends, my wife, and my children. I cannot say enough thank you for all the support I have received."
The Action of the Final Day
With several short stacks in contention, the action in the first two levels was tense with very few showdowns about and Speiser was the first to bow out after running queen-ten suited into the pocket tens of Salas. The next player to bust was then Obreshkov and again, Salas dealt the final blow.
Ruivo eliminated Mikolaitis and Streda, the latter with aces over ace-king, but even as he did, Salas busied himself pulling farther ahead in the counts. Munoz eventually succumbed to his short stack, exiting in fourth place.
In three-handed play, start-of-the-day leader Botteon nearly closed the gap to Salas at the top but the Argentinian then knocked out Ruivo when his flush draw got there versus top two pair.
Heads-up play saw Salas with a solid lead at the start and despite Botteon pulling into a narrow lead for a couple of minutes, the match ended in a couple of dozen hands. Eventually, Salas had the best of it with top two pair on the river when he caught Botteon bluffing to secure a payday of more than $1.5 million.
While that wraps up the final table of the international leg at the King's Resort in Rozvadov, the 2020 World Champion is yet to be crowned. All nine finalists of the identical domestic WSOP.com event will play down to a winner, who then faces Salas for the heads-up duel with $1 million added.
That wraps up the live updates for now but stay tuned right here on PokerNews for the conclusion of the online and live poker hybrid.